Dealwatch: US firms enjoy marquee run of deals with Kirkland and Goodwin leading the way
Legal Business
Kirkland & Ellis advised investment adviser and repeat customer GLP Investment Services on the $18.7bn sale of its US logistics business to The Blackstone Group. The Chicago-bred juggernaut fielded corporate partners Michael Steele in London and Michael Brueck in New York. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised longstanding client Blackstone out of New York with real estate partner Davis Coen leading the team.
Eversheds Sutherland advised Legal & General (L&G) on its £4.6bn buy-in to buy-out with the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund, with corporate partner Hugo Laing and pensions specialist Mark Latimour leading the team. The deal is billed as the UK’s largest-ever annuity transfer and saw CMS advise L&G with partner Thomas Lockley at the helm, while Linklaters acted for the trustees with global head of pensions Claire Petheram and derivatives partner Mark Brown advising.
Kirkland also advised BC Partners-backed United Group on a €220m deal to acquire mobile operator Tele2 Croatia from Tele2 Group. London corporate partner David D’Souza led the Kirkland team with support from transactional partner David Higgins and debt finance partner Neel Sachdev. Tele2 was advised by Schoenherr through its offices in Austria and Croatia.
Macfarlanes advised on the sale of American railway operator Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) in an $8.4bn deal, with competition partner Christophe Humpe acting for G&W on EU and UK competition law. Addleshaw Goddard also advised G&W, alongside Simpson Thacher, Canadian firm Stikeman Elliott and Australian practice Allens. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz advised G&W’s board of directors, while White & Case was lead counsel to the consortium of buyers.
Goodwin Procter’s City arm is advising Glennmont Partners on the €850m closing of its Clean Energy Fund III to invest in clean energy infrastructure projects in Europe. The team was led by partners Michael Halford, Alexandrine Armstrong-Cerfontaine and Laura Charkin. Halford and Charkin also advised Advent International out of London on its $17.5bn fundraise for its ninth global private equity fund, GPE IX Limited Partnership, while New York partners David Watson and James Donohue led on the mandate.
Baker McKenzie advised Equinix on its $1bn initial joint venture with GIC, Singapore’s global wealth fund. The Bakers team was led by London corporate partners Kirsty Wilson, David Hart and Charles Whitefoord. Kirkland advised GIC, with a team headed by partners Matthew Elliott, Celyn Evans and Carlos Gil Rivas.